Deputy U.S. marshal who led Frein hunt is fatally shot

Christopher David Hill was killed while serving arrest warrant

Photos

Christopher David Hill (U.S. Marshals Service)

A deputy U.S. marshal who led the massive 2014 Poconos manhunt for trooper killer Eric Frein was fatally shot in Philadelphia last Friday.

A gunman opened fire on law enforcement officers serving an arrest warrant inside a home before dawn on Jan. 18, killing Deputy U.S. Marshal Christopher David Hill before he was shot to death by police as he fled outside, authorities said.

Hill, 45, an Army veteran who has been with the service more than a decade, died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the county coroner said. Another member of the fugitive task force, York City Police Officer Kyle Pitts, also was hit by gunfire, but his injuries were not considered life-threatening.

U.S. Attorney Dave Freed said there are indications a third officer may have been struck in his body armor but was not wounded.

U.S. Marshal Martin Pane said Hill belonged to an elite special operations group within the agency and took a lead role in the fugitive Eric Frein in 2014. Frein was subsequently convicted and sentenced to death for killing a state trooper.

“Chris is just one of those guys that rises to the top," Pane said. “Chris is the cream of the crop. He's one of our best and . you would probably not find a better tactical operator in the state of Pennsylvania."

“None of us has sufficient words to express our grief and sorrow," Freed said.

Police were on the first floor handcuffing the woman they were seeking to arrest when 31-year-old Kevin Sturgis, of Philadelphia, began firing from the second floor, said Freed. Sturgis was fatally shot as he later ran out the front door, again shooting at police, he said.

Sturgis had active warrants in Philadelphia for not showing up to be sentenced on a gun charge and failing to appear at a probation violation hearing. Hill and Pitts were removed from the back of the house during the confrontation after being shot.

Hill died at a hospital. He is survived by a wife and two children. He served with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan before being hired by the marshal service in 2006.

In a statement issued from Washington, Attorney General Jeff Sessions described law enforcement as heartbroken over Hill's death. He said the officer's name should be recalled as a synonym for valor.

“Every day, deputy U.S. marshals make the people of this country safer by catching fugitives on the run, protecting our courthouses, our judges and witnesses at trial," Sessions said. “They achieve these critical accomplishments at often heroic risk."

Gov. Tom Wolf ordered state flags to fly at half-staff in Hill's honor until his interment.

The shooting occurred less than 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the state Capitol in a working class neighborhood of duplexes, single-family homes and commercial buildings.